Improvement in door-springs



1. B. DOT TOM. Door-Springs.

' Patented.Jan.19,18-75l.

To all whom it may concern:

'ments in Door-Springs for Holding Doors The arm Ais pivoted, at itsouter free end, in

unites the two arms is provided with a flat head or plate, having ahook, L, on one edge,

UNITED STATES PATENT, QFFIOE.

JAMES B. OOTTOM, OF DAYTON, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN DOOR-SPRINGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 1 58,833, dated January19, 1875; application filed December 19, 1874.

Be it known that I, Jar/ms B. COTTOM, of Dayton, in the county ofMontgomery and State of Ohio, have in vented certain Improve- Shut orOpen, of which the following is a specification b My invention consistsin the peculiar construction of a reversible or right-and-left-handdoor-spring, consisting of a toggle-lever provided with a novel supportat one end, and operated by means of a spiral spring, as here- 1 afterfully explained.

Figure l represents a perspective view of my device applied to aleft-hand door, and Fig. 2 a perspective view of the device adjusted forapplication to a right-hand-door.

The device consists essentially of two arms or rods, A and B, havingtheir ends pivoted together, and a spiral spring, E, connected to themat the joint or point of union, as shown.

the upper end of a vertical pin, 0, which is mounted in ears or studs ona plate, D, which is provided with holes to receive fastening screws.The free end of the arm B is flattened, and provided with a hole toreceive a fastening stud or screw. The pivot which and is arranged toturn freely, so that the hook may be brought on either side of the arms.The joint is so constructed that the arms may be bent out of line ineither direction, as desired. The spring is provided at one end with aloop, 0, to engage over the hook D, and at the other end with a loop, d,to receive a fastening-screw or staple.

When the device is to be applied to a lefthand door the parts areadjusted as shown in Fig. 1, the plate D screwed to the door-frame, thejoint raised above the vertical line, the end of the arm B secured tothe door, and the spring drawn downward, and its lower end secured tothe door by a stud or screw, H, as shown. When thus arranged, it will beseen that the spring, tending to straighten the lever and draw the armsdown in line with each other, causes them to force the door shut. As thedoor opens the two ends of the arms are brought nearer t0gether,causi ng the lever to bow or bend upward at the middle, and thereby strain thespring.

It will be observed that as the door approaches a closed position, sothat the lever acts with less advantage thereon, the lever straightensout and exerts an increased force or power.

When the device is to be applied to a righthand door it is turned endfor end and the other side up, the lever bowed or bent in the oppositedirection, the hook and spring turned around on the opposite side, and,lastly, the rod 0 turned over and the plate D turned end for endthereon, so that the parts are in the positions shown in Fig. 2. Thedevice is then applied to the door, as in the first instance.

By providing two or more of the pins or studs H at different heights thetension of the spring may be varied, and more or less force applied tothe door, as circumstances require; and by unhooking the spring the doormay be relieved from pressure.

When it is desired to have the device hold the door open instead ofshut, a stud, I, is secured to the door above the lever, and the springturned upward and hooked thereon, in order to hold the lever in a bentposition.

My device is simple, cheap, and strong; noiseless in its operation;unobjectionable in appearance; and capable of ready attachment, and ofsuch adjustment that it will exert any desired force to close the door,or that it will hold the door open, or that it will not act at all.

It is obvious that, in constructing the device, the head and hook at thejoint may be omitted and the spring hooked on the end of the pivot-pinand also that the form of the plate D and rod 0 may be modified.

When the device is intended for use on very heavy doors two levers maybe used, one above the other, and bent apart or away from each other atthe middle, and a single spring arranged between them, with one endconnected to each, so that it will tend to straighten them both. Whenused on doors which are liable to sag down the spring should be placednear the bottom, as it will then assist in holding the door up inposition.

The device is applicable, of course, to gates as well as to doors.

What I claim as my invention is pin 0, with its bracket D, allconstructed to 1. The reversible door-spring, consisting of operate asand for the purpose set forth. the jointed rods A and B, reversible pin0,

and spring E, constructed and. operating sub- JAMES B. (BOTTOM.stantially as described. Witnesses:

2. In combination with the jointed. rods A PHIL. T. DODGE,

and B, the reversible hook L and reversible J. MCKENNEY.

